I did an extensive amount of research on this both here and other sites, but i have a question nonetheless. If a shifter for an auto like the B&M hammer shifter allows you to start in a lower gear 1 or 2 and then up or downshift as you wish, other than not being able to overshift from say 1-D or D-1, is it any better than just starting the stocker in the gear and then shifting it? Basically, I was considering this part, but would rather spend the money else where. I (believe it or not) like my automatic, but on occasion, I will start in 2nd, then upshift to D as I get going. Or occasionally from D-2 as I de-accellerate. I never use 1st. Is this safe to do? It would stand to reason that if the ratchet type shifters allow this, it would be ok so long as I do not miss the gear and jump too high or too low. Thanks
I have the hammer shifter And I absolutely love it! It makes the car a lot more fun to drive! Plus IMO it is worth it just for the looks.
It does look better than the stock one, i agree. I just am trying to remain budget minded so I was looking at this more in the future rather than right now. Basically the question I have is if the hammer shifter allows for upshifting and downshifting, is it safe to do this one gear at a time (so long as I do not miss the gear)?
upshifting is safe, but i wouldnt downshift very often unless you have a built/cooled tranny. downshifting causes a lot of excess heat. But you wont ever miss the gear, it only ratchets 1 gear at a time.
I plan on adding a tranny cooler sooner rather than later. I am considering the hammer shifter. At the moment, I usually drive around town with O/D off and occasionally will start out in 2nd and then upshift to D. I rarely downshift, just once in a while from D to 2 as I am approaching a stop (usually just to hear the exhaust growl ). I never use 1st up or down. I was basically curious as to whether or not this is "ok" for the car (tranny in particular). I assume since this is the function that the hammer shifter serves that it would be ok. One other question, with the hammer shifter, can I leave it in D and just drive like stock?
A shifter shouldn't affect operation in 'D' - you'd need a manual valvebody for that. Yeah, it's fun to hear the exaust burbling and backfiring while coasting down from high-RPM just keep in mind that brakes are wear items and cheap to replace and transmissions are not. For the most part though, the stock trans shouldn't let you do anything too stupid - if you shift down too far, the trans shouldn't shift into that gear if the RPMs are too high for it.
But that shifter is a PITA to install.. Well to get calibrated correctly.. The shifter cable is a little too short.. So you have to find a way to extend the cable or bend the linkage on the shifter
Sorry to be repeating myself here, but does this mean it is OK for the transmission to manually upshift from 2-D (with OD off) upon acceleration? I have to assume since the hammer allows ratcheting one gear at a time, using the stock one gear at a time would be ok too.
I also only downshift on rare occasion and usually am pretty good about making sure I am slowing down enough that the trans does not drop the gear and raise the rpms too much. In other words I don't drop it into 2nd at 60mph. I usually only do any kind of shifting around town at under 40 mph speeds. On the highway I 99.9% of the time leave it in D with OD on. I just wanted to clarify that since the hammer shifter allows the manual shifts, that I could assume the tranny could handle it on occasion with the stock shifter. Either way, a trans cooler will be on the to do list sometime soon.
